A substantial number of women's undergarments have been produced which are directed toward the general objective of forming and supporting different portions of human female torsos. For example, the now common brassiere provides a pair of breast-supporting cups together with various combinations of supports and straps to provide the desired support and shaping of the female bustline. A variety of other undergarments provided for introducing a forming or slimming effect to the torso has been provided under various names which have included corsets, girdles, midriff supports, foundation garments, waist cinchers or simply cinchers. Such garments often provide the desired slimming or forming characteristic but equally often tend to be uncomfortable to wear especially for extended periods of time. In addition, such garments have a tendency to move or shift upon the wearer's torso as the wearer moves about and undergoes movement such as sitting, rising, bending and so forth.
Recognizing the problems associated with such undergarments, practitioners in the art have endeavored to provide various improvements. Such improvements have included combination undergarments in which a brassiere and corset are combined in removable attachments as well as other undergarment combinations. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,249 issued to Darring sets forth a MIDRIFF CONTROLLING UNDERGARMENT having an upper torso encircling portion and a lower torso encircling pants portion releasibly connected together at a parting plane located approximately at the waist of the user. A plurality of circumferentially spaced snaps are provided on adjacent edges of the upper and lower portions releasibly joining them together in an overlapping relationship. The upper portion includes breast-supporting cups and straps similar to a brassiere.
U.S. Pat. No. 230,462 issued to Bortree sets forth a CORSET comprising an undergarment having a torso worn portion together with an upper portion defining downwardly concave breast-supporting portions. A pair of slide rails are secured to each side of the downwardly extending breast cup receiving portions which terminate in spaced apart lower ends. A pair of breast cups formed to provide a concave interior breast receiving portion are provided with elongated slide attachments which slidably engage the attachments on the torso-worn garment. The slidable attachment of the breast-supporting cups facilitates easy vertical movement of the breast-supporting cups with respect to the remainder of the garment. In addition, each breast cup further supports a pair of elongated elastic bands which are secured at their lower ends to the breast cups and their upper ends are attachable after having been stretched to the upper portion of the torso-worn garment. When assembled to the torso-worn garment, the breast cups are vertically movable due to the sliding attachment thereof and are biased upwardly toward raised positions by the elastic bands. The objective of Bortree is to provide a combination garment in which the breast cups are movable in response to the wearer's breast movements as the wearer bends, stoops or stands erect.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,185,156 issued to Steinberger sets forth a COMBINED BRASSIERE AND GIRDLE ATTACHED TOGETHER BY ZIPPER MEANS having a lower torso covering girdle and an upper midriff torso covering brassiere joined at the wearer's waistline by a zipper attachment. The upper torso portion includes a pair of breast-supporting cups and straps similar to a conventional brassiere.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,031,069 issued to Hensley sets forth a CORSET ATTACHMENT having a torso defining an upper edge extending just beneath the wearer's breast and a crescent-shaped body comprised of two similar half parts attachable to the upper edge of the corset to provide a breast covering garment.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,525,666 issued to Glynn sets forth a GIRDLE AND BRASSIERE AND HOLD DOWN MEANS THEREFOR having a girdle configured to be worn upon the lower torso and a brassiere having a midriff slimming portion extending downwardly therefrom worn in an overlapping fashion. A plurality of hold down straps are secured to the bottom edge of the brassiere and extend downwardly beneath the girdle to prevent the lower portion of the brassiere from riding up on the wearer's torso.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,966,973 issued to Siegel sets forth a GARMENT having a lower torso worn girdle and an upper torso garment including a brassiere joined together at the wearer's waist. Means of attachment are provided between the upper and lower torso garments.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,625,664 issued to Kispert sets forth a COMBINED CORSET AND BRASSIERE having a corset wearable upon the lower torso and a brassiere wearable upon the upper torso joined together at a common seam near the wearer's waist.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,010,592 issued to Hollar sets forth a COMPOSITE GARMENT having a lower torso worn girdle portion supporting a plurality of downwardly extending hose straps and an upper edge. A brassiere worn upon the upper torso portion includes a downwardly extending edge and a plurality of attachment straps for securing the lower edge of the brassiere to the upper edge of the corset.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,714 issued to Steinberger sets forth a COMBINED BRASSIERE AND SLIP ATTACHED TOGETHER BY ZIPPER MEANS having a long line brassiere defining a lower edge and a half slip defining an upper edge. A zipper attachment is provided between the lower edge of the brassiere and the upper edge of the slip to provide removable attachment. In an alternate embodiment, a corset is attached to the brassiere in place of the slip.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,505,616 issued to Goldberg sets forth a FOUNDATION GARMENT having a torso fitting garment extending from the wearer's shoulders downwardly and including a lower portion taking the place of panties. A pair of shoulder pads are built into and secured to the upper portion of the garment.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,378,676 issued to Heindrich sets forth a DETACHABLE BRASSIERE AND CORSET COMBINATION having an upper torso brassiere portion and a lower torso corset portion. The brassiere portion includes a rear panel extending downwardly past the girdle and terminating in stocking support straps.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,402,782 issued to Schwartz sets forth a TWO-PIECE NIGHTGOWN having a lower skirt portion and an upper body portion joined at the wearer's waistline.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,899,962 issued to Entringer, et al. sets forth a BASIC UNDERGARMENT AND BOUFFANT having a lower torso covering undergarment or corset supporting a short skirt portion having a plurality of attachment snap members along the lower edge thereof. A multiply pleated bouffant is securable to the snap members to provide a removable garment bouffant.
While the foregoing described prior art devices have provided improvement in the art and, in some instances, have enjoyed commercial success, they fail to provide an undergarment with removably attachable cups which once attached remain immovable with respect to the undergarment. Thus, there remains nonetheless a continuing need in the art for more comfortable, practical and conveniently utilized undergarments and brassiere combinations.